Chamber and committees

I visited China between 22 – 29 November. The programme concentrated on the three pillars of the Scottish Government’s focus with China: tackling climate change and biodiversity loss; encouraging people-to-people links in areas such as education, culture and tourism; and promoting trade and investment links where mutually beneficial and in keeping with our values and national security interests.

As part of the visit, I met with senior government representatives, where I discussed the importance of human rights, emphasising the Scottish Government’s values and the importance of applying them to what we do, including in our relationship with China.

A constructive relationship with China is mutually beneficial, where consistent with our values and overall national security. This includes raising human rights, where appropriate, as I did during my visit.

One Scottish Government official attended the meeting.

The SPCB is aware of the serious risk of possible outside interference to the Scottish Parliament. We have a range of measures in place to mitigate the risk as far as possible. As these measures impact on the security of the Scottish Parliament, it would not be appropriate to publish the details of these measures.

The Member may wish to be aware that the SPCB approved a series of CPD briefing sessions in early November for Members and their staff, with representatives from our security partners, to raise awareness of outside interference. The briefing sessions focused on what Members and their staff can do to help with managing the risk from outside interference.

NHSScotland is following the guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) who do not recommend that all sites with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) should be vacated simply because RAAC is present. They do however recommend that if RAAC planks are present, their structural condition will need to be determined by a Chartered or Incorporated Structural Engineer to determine the risks and whether any remedial work is required. This is the approach that NHSScotland is taking. Where RAAC has been found in the NHSScotland Estate there has been no immediate disruption or concern although additional monitoring and management of is required in all cases. NHS Boards will consider their buildings with RAAC on an ongoing risk based approach to the management of those assets.

Universities in Scotland are autonomous bodies, and the Scottish Government does not hold data on the level and nature of financial investment from China.

The Scottish Government is working with all public sector partners to understand the extent of, and risks associated with, RAAC across all public bodies. In respect of issues concerning RAAC outside of schools and housing, Scottish Government officials are working closely with the Scottish Heads of Property Services (SHOPS) which is co-ordinating an information gathering exercise on our behalf in respect of the prevalence of RAAC in the non school/non housing estate. Information is also sought on planned actions and mitigations. Scottish Government officials will continue to attend SHOPS meetings to support information sharing, help facilitate wider engagement with other sectors and ensure awareness of best industry practice in mitigating RAAC impacts.

There has been one meeting on 5 October 2023 between myself and Maggie Chapman (Scottish Green Party MSP) on the four-day working week public sector pilot. There have been no further formal meetings with Ministers on the pilot since April 2023.

Officials have held a number of planning meetings with prospective interested public sector organisations, the expert partner organisation, and other interested stakeholders.

There are no immediate plans to publish the agendas and minutes of these meetings as it not an established practice for regular policy development.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23120 on 7 December 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Four civil servants have worked part-time on its four-day working week four-day working week public sector pilot, since April 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23120 on 7 December 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .